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Updated on
August 02, 2009,
R.M.
asks from New York, NY
on
July 27, 2009

Question on Fever and Pedi Recommendation

I have a question for you great moms out there. How high should a fever be before a pediatrician will see a child? My son today got fever and hit 104 and I gave him tylenol but still the fever persists. When should I bring him to the doctor? Can you recommend to me a good pediatrician? Thanks!

Featured Answers

L.B.
answers from New York
on
July 28, 2009

For newborns, most peds like you to call if the temp is 100.5 (usually they'll tell you to bring the infant in right away). If the baby's a little older, the cutoff is higher -- 102 at least warrants a phone call (bring the baby in if the ped tells you to), no question that 104 definitely warrants a trip.

Usually the number is over 102. 104 is definitely time to go to the doctor in my opinion. Especially if you've tried tylenol. I use the Westchester Medical Group. All of the doctors there are great, in emergency situations, we've seen about 5 or 6 of them. The general phone number is ###-###-####.

DEFINITELY bring him to the doctor! Anytime a child has a fever over 100 you should contact the Dr. They can always advise over the phone if he needs to be seen or not. 104 is high and he should be seen immediately!
If you cannot find a Dr, go to the Emergency room.

More Answers

J.P.
answers from Buffalo
on
July 28, 2009

Hi R.
You really should take your son to the ER. My Daughter recently had 105.9 for 5 days. We finally did have to take her to the Hops. and they gave her IV fluids and meds. (She was under the care of a DR. The whole time.We didn't wait 5 days!) Depending on the age of your son, it may be more important to get him there quickly. An infant need so to be seen by a docter for anything over 100.4. An older child usually 103 or higher is what my Ped. told us. Also, we had to constantly give her baths. DO NOT give cold baths, as that will make the fever go higher as the body fights to keep its self warm. It will also bring on chills. The water should be luke warm. The Ped. stressed that, because too many people give cold baths. You can also give Motrin and Tylenol alternating each dose. If the fever persists for more than a day or two, your doctor may want to do some tests to see if there is some sort of infection present. My daughter had a severe viral infection. That is why it persisted so long. She was dehydrated and couldn't fight it off on her own. Which is another important point. With any fever it is important to make sure your child is drinking. Staying hydrated helps with the fever. Try ice pops if they give a hard time drinking. I hope everything will be well for you and your son. Please let us know what happens!

You call now. A fever of 104 is something that the doctor needs to be alerted of immediately, especially if the fever persists w/ Tylenol. Call anyone- we use TLC in Fishkill,NY- but it doesn't matter who you call at this point. Find a doctor and have your child seen first thing this morning.

Take him to the Dr ASAP. My daughter had a febrile seizure yesterday from a high temp. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. I am now rotating motrin/tylenol to hopefully prevent another one. Don't wait to have him seen.

Hi R.. 104 is a high fever and you should take your baby to the doctor as soon as possible. You don't say how old your baby is and what other symptoms accompany the fever. Both important in determining the severity of the fever.

You also don't mention where you live. I would be happy to recommend my son's pediatrician, it is in Rutherford, NJ. If that is a convenient location for you, send me a message and I will resond with their info.

You got a lot of good advice already, but just for the future - low grade fever that lasts a few days is worse the high fever that goes up and down. My daughter had a bad case of pneumonia and her fever never went above 101.2. If fever persists for more then 3 days you need to bring your child to a doctor. You want to bring down very high fever though, because it does sometimes have underirable consequences. Motrin (ibuprophen)is better at fighting fever then Tylenol (acetaminophen). Try that. You can also try wiping your sons hands and feet and face with a wet cloth, or if he will put him in a cool (not cold!) tub. You can also give Tylenol and Motrin intermittently - give Motrin, after 3-4 hours if fever goes up give him Tylenol, then Motrin again

THATS HIGH! Take him to the doctor! Usually 101 is time for the dr. Once the fever get high like that you can alternate tylenol and motrin or just go with the motrin - seems to help better with the high fevers and thats what my pedia recommends.

Hi, R.,
I think it's always better to be safe than sorry -- so if you're concerned, you should call your pediatrician's office (or take him to Urgent Care if you don't have a pediatrician). That said, our 2-1/2 year old daughter had a fever of 104.5 last week, and when we talked to the pediatrician, he wasn't particularly worried. He said with any fever over 102 it's best to give children's ibuprofen (or children's Motrin), because that does a better job of bringing down high fevers. But he also said there was no reason to bring her in, and that little kids often get high fevers and it's not dangerous.

But you should always trust your instincts. If your child is delirious or out of it or if something just seems off, it's better to check in with a medical professional.

My pediatrician always tells me to use Motrin (only if your son is over 6 months) with really high fevers. If he still has a fever in 24 hrs I would bring him to the dr. I have found when my children have high fevers it usually tends to be viral. However, if you feel that something else is brewing I would call today. It never hurts to have them checked out.

What we do in our family to bring down a high and persistent fever is an ice pack, cold compresses and/or a cold baths. Yes the baby will squirm, cry, and not like it but it does work.

Give medication 30 minutes to kick in. You should see some kind of change.

If the fever persists, for more than 2 consecutive days, then take your baby to the doctor.

Oddly enough the body does know how to fight infection and disease, fever is a part of that process but with extremely high fever's come consequences which is why you may need to bring the fever down sooner than later.

Drs usually tell you to call them if your child gets a temp of 100.5 or higher.
How old is your child?
If your baby is an infant,then I'd say you are well overdue to see the Dr.
A temp of 104 is a very high temp.
Although most children do get fevers that high and get over them within 2-3 days, you should be on the phone with your Dr to confirm your concerns and make him/her aware that if it doesn't break you will need to be seen.

You didn't say where you lived either, but I can highly recommend Dr Chan in Wappingers Falls. He is great and a lot of Mom's here have recommended him in previous posts.
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I hope your baby is better!

you should call the dr immediatly they shoudl not have a temp that high. i am going through the same thing with my son he is 21 months and he has an ear infection and his fever got that high we have been at the drs for the last 2 days, you should try and get plenty of fluids inhim water, pedialite, etc so he does not dehidrate. youshould also switch between tynoly and motrin.

first thing in the morning. get the first name of a pediatrician from your insurance list. 104 is high. no time to search for a great pediatrician. your son needs any pediatrician right now. if tylenol/motrin aren't lowering the fever i would suspect strep throat. either way, yup, first thing in the am
good luck

I am a mom of a 19 yr. old son. Whenever he got a fever of 101 or higher I called my pediatrician for what to do to reduce the fever and if he/she wanted to see my son. Please call your pediatrician ASAP as your sons' fever is way too high and could go into convulsions. You should bring him in to the doctor ASAP.

For newborns, most peds like you to call if the temp is 100.5 (usually they'll tell you to bring the infant in right away). If the baby's a little older, the cutoff is higher -- 102 at least warrants a phone call (bring the baby in if the ped tells you to), no question that 104 definitely warrants a trip.

My inital reaction is to say you need to get to an Urgent Care now! You don't say how old your son is but if he is an infant, anything over 100.4 is considered too high. If he is older, say 4 years old or so, anything over 103 without going down would be a huge concern to me. You should give him Tylenol, then put him in a luke warm bath. Take a wet wash cloth and hold it to his underarms, bottom of his feet, etc. 3 hours after the Tylenol, give him a dose of Motrin. If his temp won't come down or stays for a couple of days, you need to take him to the doctor or hospital. He could have an ear infection or something else going on. Usually that is what high temps in my children mean. I had to rush my then 16 month old to the ER this past December with a 105 rectal temp and climbing!! He had an ear infection.

BTW, not to scare you but the other moms are right. Too high a fever can cause damage and if the high fever comes on too quickly, they can end up having a febrile seizure from it! I hope you let us know what happened. I'd say ER or Urgent Care for sure at this point.

Get him to a doctor right away! If you don't already have a pediatrician go to your nearest urgent care center or the ER, a high fever for too long could mean a very serious problem. True some children just run high fevers, but don't take that chance! This is your child you are talking about, I would rather be safe in seeking medical advice from a doctor than waiting to get advice online on an issue like this!

It's a hard question.........when my youngest was a little over a year old she had a double ear infection which caused her to have a 105.1 fever - the pediatrician wasn't extremely concerned, but it does all have to do w/the age of ur child. The best thing to use is motrin because it lasts about 6-8 hours - try a cool washcloth on the back of ur child's neck. But if u feel that uncomfortable I would definitely call the ped or go to the emergency room. I'd just try to monitor his fever for a while though. My friend is a nurse & told me that the most effective any fever reducer is would be w/in the first hour of giving it so maybe put down time & temp prior to then an hour later. Good luck!

104 is a very high fever. I would take him to the emergency room if you do not have a pediatrician. I am not sure where you live to recommend a doctor but in the meantime I would have him looked at right away.

DEFINITELY bring him to the doctor! Anytime a child has a fever over 100 you should contact the Dr. They can always advise over the phone if he needs to be seen or not. 104 is high and he should be seen immediately!
If you cannot find a Dr, go to the Emergency room.

Anything that is over 100 is considered a fever. There may be an infection some where. Being that the fever is that high I would not wait... call the DR. If the fever last more then 24 hours I would not wait. I can't really recommend a pedi since I don't know where you live but I use Chester Pediatrics in Goshen. Dr Wapshire. Hope this helps.

I think it depends on your child's history.
My son has never had a fever as high as 104 (or even over 102), so that would freak me out and I would call the pediatrician. However, (s)he is going to tell you to either give tylenol/ fever reducer or go to the hospital.
my advice, call your doctor if you are unsure, (s)he might be able to guide you. If the fever continues or the tylenol doesn't work, absolutely go to the doctor or emergency room if it is high enough.

Your child needs to see a doctor right away, please get off the internet and get hmi in to a doctor.NThis is a high temp, he could have some illness that needs medication, you didn't mention his age. I'm not sure why you don't have a doctor (new to the area?) but it's hard to recommend if we don't know where you are, but a doctor may not be able to take a new patient on an emergency basis, so you might also see if there's a walk in health center in your area, I'd want him seen asap so if you can't quickly get a dr appt, go to the ER.

Whenever my 6 year old daughter has a fever over 102 I always give her Motrin which works better on fevers over 102. My daughter's pediatrician would see her if the fever persisted for more than 3 days.

Usually the number is over 102. 104 is definitely time to go to the doctor in my opinion. Especially if you've tried tylenol. I use the Westchester Medical Group. All of the doctors there are great, in emergency situations, we've seen about 5 or 6 of them. The general phone number is ###-###-####.

That is really high. I gave my son tylenol the first 4 hours and on schedule mortin the next for hours and repeat it for a day. If the fever does not break I will take your son right away. I will call and ask the doctor first before doing this. This is what I was instructed to do from my Pedi. It works most of the time with my children. Good Luck! :) My doctor is Michele Segal in Nutley NJ ###-###-####.

I'm a little surprised he does not have one. Depending on where you're located I can recommend one to you. If you are in a pinch, there is a place called PM Pediatrics in Suffern, NY. They are open 5pm-12am monday thru friday and 12-12 on saturday and sunday. I work there every saturday and the docs there are great. They are an urgent care center so you can not use them as a pediatrician. But we see fevers, sore throats, etc... Their # is ###-###-####.